Three Spartans to Play in Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship
11/3/2021 9:44:00 AM | Men's Golf, Women's Golf
East Lansing, Mich. – Three Michigan State golfers will be among the best amateur golfers from 20 countries and four continents playing in the 2021 Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship from Thursday, Nov. 4 to Saturday, Nov. 6 at Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity, Texas. Two female and two male amateurs from each country will play for a chance at gold in five concurrent competitions.
The Spartans will be represented by men's golfer James Piot (Canton, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central), the 2021 U.S. Amateur Champion, who will play for the United States team. MSU women's golf will have a pair of golfers playing, with Valery Plata (Floridablanca, Colombia/Colegio La Quinta Del Puente) representing her native Colombia and Valentina Rossi (Rosario, Argentina) playing for Argentina. Plata (2020) and Rossi (2021) both played in the semifinals of the U.S. Women's Amateur.
Michigan State is one of only five schools nationally to have at least three players appearing in the Spirit International Amateur Championship (Arkansas, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State and Stanford).
"This is a great honor for all three of our golfers and a tremendous achievement," MSU Women's Golf Coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll said. "Valery, Valentina and James have worked hard to be among the best not only on the collegiate level, but in the amateur ranks. It's quite a testament to have three golfers from our programs not only representing Michigan State, but playing for three different countries."
"The Spirit International is a great event and one of the most prestigious in amateur golf," MSU Men's Golf Head Coach Casey Lubahn said. "James has had quite a run over the last year and this will be a great way to cap off his fall season. It's great that he can share this accomplishment with Valery and Valentina and represent Michigan State."
The championship will be available via livestream during competition on GolfChannel.com, the NBC Sports app and on TheSpiritGolf.com. GOLF Channel will present the highlight show in primetime, from 7-9 pm ET on Dec. 9, followed by an encore presentation on Dec. 11 from 4-6 pm ET.
The 2021 Spirit features 80 competitors from 20 countries, representing four continents. It is a 54-hole, four-ball stroke play competition, with five concurrent competition categories. Gold, silver and bronze commemorative medals are awarded to the top finishers in each competition.
"Every single one of our 80 participants has expressed how excited they are to have the opportunity to represent their country in competition," said Charlie Epps, The Spirit tournament director and president of the Spirit Golf Association. "Some of these players will experience international competition and team golf for the first time, but others have experienced it before and have joined our field because of how much they do enjoy it. We're looking forward to an incredible week at The Spirit."
The Spirit is a celebration of international goodwill through golf and includes opening and closing ceremonies in addition to social events during the week. Camp Olympia, one of the premier summer camps in the country, provides international village accommodations for the golfers, allowing them to gather and socialize after play.
The Spartans will be represented by men's golfer James Piot (Canton, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central), the 2021 U.S. Amateur Champion, who will play for the United States team. MSU women's golf will have a pair of golfers playing, with Valery Plata (Floridablanca, Colombia/Colegio La Quinta Del Puente) representing her native Colombia and Valentina Rossi (Rosario, Argentina) playing for Argentina. Plata (2020) and Rossi (2021) both played in the semifinals of the U.S. Women's Amateur.
Michigan State is one of only five schools nationally to have at least three players appearing in the Spirit International Amateur Championship (Arkansas, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State and Stanford).
"This is a great honor for all three of our golfers and a tremendous achievement," MSU Women's Golf Coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll said. "Valery, Valentina and James have worked hard to be among the best not only on the collegiate level, but in the amateur ranks. It's quite a testament to have three golfers from our programs not only representing Michigan State, but playing for three different countries."
"The Spirit International is a great event and one of the most prestigious in amateur golf," MSU Men's Golf Head Coach Casey Lubahn said. "James has had quite a run over the last year and this will be a great way to cap off his fall season. It's great that he can share this accomplishment with Valery and Valentina and represent Michigan State."
The championship will be available via livestream during competition on GolfChannel.com, the NBC Sports app and on TheSpiritGolf.com. GOLF Channel will present the highlight show in primetime, from 7-9 pm ET on Dec. 9, followed by an encore presentation on Dec. 11 from 4-6 pm ET.
The 2021 Spirit features 80 competitors from 20 countries, representing four continents. It is a 54-hole, four-ball stroke play competition, with five concurrent competition categories. Gold, silver and bronze commemorative medals are awarded to the top finishers in each competition.
"Every single one of our 80 participants has expressed how excited they are to have the opportunity to represent their country in competition," said Charlie Epps, The Spirit tournament director and president of the Spirit Golf Association. "Some of these players will experience international competition and team golf for the first time, but others have experienced it before and have joined our field because of how much they do enjoy it. We're looking forward to an incredible week at The Spirit."
The Spirit is a celebration of international goodwill through golf and includes opening and closing ceremonies in addition to social events during the week. Camp Olympia, one of the premier summer camps in the country, provides international village accommodations for the golfers, allowing them to gather and socialize after play.
Players Mentioned
Ireland's Best | Spartans All-Access
Thursday, September 26
Supporting Heroes: Folds of Honor | Spartans All-Access
Thursday, September 19
Spartans All-Access: Folds of Honor Collegiate
Monday, September 11
Coach Lubhan | Weekly Press Conference | Aug. 28 2023
Monday, August 28